为什么中国人过年要给红包？
Why do Chinese people give red envelopes?
Name: ________________ Date: ________
过年的时候，中国孩子最喜欢的颜色是红色。不是因为红色好看，是因为红色的小信封里放着钱。这就是红包。
红包都是给谁的呢？一般是大人给孩子。已经结婚的人也会给还没结婚的年轻人。孩子长大工作了，也会给爸爸妈妈红包。
为什么是红色的？在中国，红色代表好运。有一种说法是，以前过年的晚上，会有一个小怪物跑出来。它摸一下睡着的孩子，孩子就会生病。大人就用红纸包住一些钱，放在孩子的枕头边。怪物一看，马上就跑了。过年时给孩子的钱，现在还叫“压岁钱”。
红包里的钱最好是新的，所以很多人过年前会去银行换一些新钱。放多少呢？大家喜欢六和八，不喜欢四。收到红包，别马上打开，先说“谢谢”。
现在，红包还“飞”到了手机上。2014年春节，很多人第一次在微信上收到了红包。家里的微信群里，只要有人发出一个红包，大家就马上来“抢”。谁手快，谁就能抢到。有人抢到五块，有人只抢到五毛。
不过，有一件事好像一直没变。孩子刚拿到红包，妈妈就走过来说：“妈妈先帮你存着。”那些钱后来去哪儿了？很多人一直到现在也不知道。
Key words
| Word | Pinyin | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 放 | fàng | to put; to place |
| 大人 | dàren | (polite) Your Excellency; lord (form of address for officials or elders) |
| 结婚 | jiéhūn | to marry; to get married |
| 以前 | yǐqián | before; previously; formerly |
| 用 | yòng | to use; use; usefulness |
| 最好 | zuìhǎo | best |
| 银行 | yínháng | bank |
| 换 | huàn | to change; to replace |
| 收到 | shōudào | to receive; to get |
| 先 | xiān | first; in advance |
| 一直 | yìzhí | always; all along; continuously |
| 变 | biàn | to change; to become; change; transformation |
English (for the teacher)
At New Year, a Chinese child’s favourite colour is red. Not because red looks nice, but because there’s money in those little red envelopes. That’s a hongbao, a red envelope.
So who are they for? Usually adults give them to children. Married people also give them to young people who aren’t married yet. Once children grow up and start working, they give their parents red envelopes too.
Why red? In China, red stands for good luck. One story goes that in the old days, on New Year’s Eve, a little monster would come out. If it touched a sleeping child, the child would fall ill. So the grown-ups wrapped some money in red paper and put it by the child’s pillow. The monster took one look and ran. The money children get at New Year is still called yāsuìqián today.
Ideally the notes inside are brand new, so many people go to the bank before New Year to get some new ones. How much goes in? People like sixes and eights, but not fours. When you get a red envelope, don’t open it straight away: say “thank you” first.
Now red envelopes have even “flown” onto phones. Over Spring Festival 2014, lots of people got a red envelope on WeChat for the first time. In the family WeChat group, the moment someone sends one, everyone rushes to “grab” it. Whoever is quickest gets one. One person grabs five yuan, another only fifty cents.
Still, one thing never seems to change. The moment a child gets a red envelope, Mum comes over and says, “Mum’ll look after that for you.” So where did all that money go? Plenty of people still don’t know.